


The Strangest Things

by Queen_Of_Lions, Slyther_in (Queen_Of_Lions)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Divergence - Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, F/M, Fred Weasley Lives, Head Girl Hermione Granger, Hogwarts Head Boys & Head Girls, Hogwarts Seventh Year, Not Canon Compliant, Nymphadora Tonks Lives, Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Remus Lupin Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27411736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_Of_Lions/pseuds/Queen_Of_Lions, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_Of_Lions/pseuds/Slyther_in
Summary: The war is over. Voldemort and his followers have been defeated. It's time for everyone to return to Hogwarts, try to move on and finish their education.Hermione is delighted when she's made head girl. Finally, after everything she's been through, she's achieved her dream. Nothing could possibly distract her from being the best head girl Hogwarts had ever seen. Except perhaps the charming head boy.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott
Comments: 13
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. 
> 
> I recently logged into my ffnet account and went through all the fics I had on there and I decided that, since I dont use ffnet anymore that I'd upload some of them on here. So this fic is one I've brought over from there, although I am going to be editing it and changing it a bit because I wrote it in 2013 and my writing style has changed somewhat since then. 
> 
> I know Theo/Hermione isn't a very common pairing on their own but...I love them. I dont know what it is about them that makes me love them together so much but I do. 
> 
> So here we are. Hope you all enjoy it

_"Sod off Ron,"_

Hermione chuckled to herself fondly as she watched the boys at the lake. She truly loved The Weasley's with all her heart. They had always been like a second family to her, although noe they were really the only family she had. After the war she'd gone to Australia to try and reverse the memory charm she'd placed on her parents, but she'd been unsuccessful. The charm had been _too_ effective. She still visited every few weeks to see how they were doing but it wasn't the same when they didn't recognise her as their daughter. ' _At least I kept them safe,'_ she thought sadly. 

"Hey Mione do you want come down to the lake with me? We can't let the boys have all the fun," shouted Ginny.

"Sure thing Gin, just let me mark my book," she called back. Hermione ignored Ginny's fond eye roll as she bookmarked her page. The two girls had grown close after the war ended, and Hermione liked to think of the redhead as a little

They couldn't help but laugh as they witnessed the scene playing out at the lake. Fred and George were clearly getting revenge on Ron, trying to grab him and throw him into the lake. They eventually succeeded, and he stumbled off the boardwalk with a shout. Hermione had to jump back from the bank to avoid getting soaked. Ron finally emerged from the lake he glared at the twins. 

"You two are so going to pay for that," he bellowed. 

Hermione made eye contact with Harry, who had been floating casually on the lake until Ron had been thrown in and startled him. The two of them grinned knowingly at each other, both well used to Ron and his short fuse. 

"In your dreams Ronald," laughed Fred.

"You cannot out prank the kings of prank," finished George. 

Hermione chuckled at the twins' ridiculousness, which drew their attention go her. Their eyes lit up mischievously and they jogged over to her. 

"Why hello Hermione, have you come to join the fun?"

"Hello boys," she grinned, "and I'm not sure I want to get involved in whatever you two think is fun." 

"Now Mione," gasped George. 

"Do you really have such little faith in us?" Asked Fred. 

"Oh yes, because I totally have reason to trust you two," she snorted. She knew trouble was coming when they grinned at her knowingly. 

"Wanna take a dip in the lake Mione?" asked Fred innocently.

"Oooh no, I'm good here on the bank," She replied, backing away from them slowly. They watched her in amusement, smirking at each other with glee. 

"Well now, that just won't do on such a hot day," smirked George. Like as if with some unspoken signal, Fred lunged for her and threw her over hus shoulder before running for the boardwalk. 

"Fred please don't do this. You know I'll hex your balls off," she threatened, but it was ruined when she giggled.

"Ah sweet Hermione, I know you would never do that to me," he beamed. 

Without hesitation he jumped off the end of the pier, taking Hermione with him. When they came up they were both laughing hysterically.

"I think I'm gonna have to come with my promise," she laughed through gasps.

"Oh no George. I'm not gonna be able to have children. Your gonna have to carry on the famous Weasley twin charm on your own," sighed Fred dramatically, feigning a fainting fit. 

Hermione rolled her eyes at his stellar performance, shoving him in the shoulder playfully. He grabbed her arm and attempted to pull her under again, but was mercifully interrupted by his mother. 

"Dinners on the table everyone," shouted Mrs Weasley. They quickly gathered their stuff and ran for the kitchen as quick as they could. Nobody wanted to miss Molly Weasley's famous dinner. The minute they sat down the boys started arguing about the mash. Hermione made eye contact with Ginny across the table, and they both shook their heads. _Boys._

Clearly Fred was done with the argument, as he grabbed the bowl before Ron could get his hands on it. Just as the mash was being handed to Hermione four owls appeared at the window. Mrs Weasley got up and opened the window to collect this year's Hogwarts letters. Hermione took her letter and opened it eagerly to see what books she would need. A she pulled out the letters a small pin clattered onto the table, and she almost choked on her own breath when she realised what it was. 

"Oh we'll done Hermione, you're head girl!" exclaimed Molly, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Well done Mione, we always knew you'd get head girl." said the twins.

"Thank you so much everyone," she said quietly, barely able to speak from the shock. With everything that had happened to her since she'd started school, she'd almost given up hope of ever being head girl. She had broken so many rules with the boys, it seemed like an impossible dream. But now it was real, and she couldn't quite believe that her dream had come true. She vowed to herself then and there, that she would let nothing get in her way of being the best head girl she could be. Perhaps even the best head girl Hogwarts had ever seen.

"I am so proud of you Hermione," cried Molly.

"Well done Hermione, but of course none of us here are even the least bit surprised," said Arthur fondly.

"You're so lucky Mione, you get your own dorms and bathroom and everything," proclaimed Ginny.

Eveyone gathered around her seat to hug her. Harry pulled her up and spun her around excitedly, grinning proudly at his best friend. Ron lingered a little too long but she decided to let it slide. She knew he had feelings for her, and for years she had even thought she might have loved him. She had thought that they were inevitable. But she had been wrong, and it was only confirmed by the awkwardness after their kiss in the chamber of secrets. She loved him with all her heart, but as a brother, not a lover. She had let go of her feelings eventually, but it was taking him a little longer.

"Well done Mione. We're so happy for you."

"Thank you Ron."

* * *

The next few weeks passed by quickly, and before they knew it it was time to head to Diagon Alley. Hermione made a beeline for Flourish & Blotts, by far her favourite shop. She loved nothing more than the smell of fresh parchment and leather bindings. She could stay in that shop for a lifetime, picking through the stacks. But alas she knew she couldn't. She had other shops to go to, so she picked her books out swiftly and paid for them.

They stopped for ice-cream at Fortescue's and then made their way to the twins shop. Their short holiday was over as it was the peak time for Hogwarts customers. They went into the colourful shop and were immediately bombarded by excited laughter and whizzing trinkets. Hermione wandered around the shop, looking for the twins to say hello.

"You wouldn't be looking for us would you?" They asked as they snuck up behind her and tapped her on the shoulders. She jumped in surprise and turned to fave them, smacking them both on the arm good naturedly. 

"Maybe" she replied grinning. 

"Now why would the Hogwarts Head Girl be looking for pranking items?" asked Fred laughing. Oh how he and George enjoyed teasing Hermione. 

"I'm merely figuring out what I'm going to be dealing with this year".

"I suppose that's a fair excuse. But I still think your a prankster at heart," smirked George with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Keep telling yourself that boys," she grinned. She saw the rest of the Weasleys leaving so she bid goodbye to the twins, knowing they'd probably be home for dinner anyway. 

Once they got back to the Burrow, Molly went straight to the kitchen to get dinner ready. There was a loud pop and the twins appeared in the living room, and Hermione smiled knowingly.

"Hey guys, don't you have a flat of your own?" Mocked Ginny.

"Can't two boys come back to their mums for her delicious dinners?" Quipped George.

"Oh hush you lot. Dinner won't be ready for ages, so do you want to play a game in the meantime?" Hermione asked.

"Sounds good Mione. Is everyone brave enough for truth or dare with the infamous Weasley twins?" said Fred with a smirk. "

You bet we are," replied hermione bravely. This was bound to be good with the two of them involved.

"So who's going first?"

They played for a while until they were called to the table for dinner. They talked jovially for hours, until it finally got late and the twins returned to their apartment over the shop. Everyone else needed to get an early night. The train for Hogwarts would leave at 11am sharp and knowing Mrs Weasley, she'd have them up at six to get ready.

* * *

As they had predicted they were woken at six o'clock for breakfast. Most people only wanted a slice of toast, but Mrs Weasley insisted they have a good healthy breakfast, so she forced pancakes down their throats. When she was satisfied they had eaten enough she let them get ready. They packed their bags and made their way to kings cross at 10 o'clock.

By the time they were through the barrier it was 10:50, and Mrs Weasley rushed them onto the train after giving them each a kiss. They four of them wandered through the train, looking for an empty carriage or a few friendly faces. They met Luna and Neville in the corridor and settled into a carriage with them for the journey. 

"How was your summer guys?" Hermione asked pleasantly. It was so nice to be able to just sit together and relax like normal teens, without the threat of impending doom. Hermione intended to enjoy every moment of it. 

"It was great Hermione. My dad and I went searching in Sweden for Crumple Horned Snorkacks," Luna said in her dreamy voice.

"Very interesting Luna" said Hermione kindly. She'd always liked Luna, despite her strangeness. In fact, it was her strangeness that made her so brilliant. 

"I just stayed with my gran. Pretty boring I know but it was nice to just be able to send time with her," sighed Neville sadly.

"That's so lovely Neville," smiled Hermione. She listened to the rest of them chatter for awhile, content to watch the world pass by outside the window. She couldn't help but wonder about what it would be like being head girl. Would she be liked? Would the head boy be nice? She suddenly remembered she needed to go to the head's carriage to meet the new head boy. 

I need to go to the heads compartment to meet the head boy. I'll see you guys at Hogwarts" said Hermione. She ran out the compartment door and down the hall. If she was being honest she was excited to see who the Head Boy was. As long as it wasn't Malfoy she would be okay.

She got to the compartment, took a deep breath, and opened the door. The carriage was already occupied when she entered. The boy turned around to face her. He was tall and lean, with dark messy hair and the most piercing blue eyes she had ever seen. She definitely recognised him but she couldn't put her finger on his name. She could however, see that he was a Slytherin because of his robes.

"So this is the famous Hermione Granger. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting?" he said smoothly. His voice had a deep timbre, and she had to admit it was pleasing to the ear. 

"I've seen you I just can't remember your name," she said quietly. She cursed herself. _Fuck!_ _Real smooth Hermione._ What a stupid thing to say, and really not a good impression on the head boy. She didn't even know his bloody name for goodness sake. 

"I can't say I'm surprised, I've tended to stick to myself. Well, I suppose I should tell you my name then. Theodore Nott, but everyone calls me Theo," he explained smiling.

"Now I know who you are, you're one of Malfoy's friends aren't you?" Hermione questioned cautiously. She wasn't sure how the whole Malfoy situation would play out this year. Sure, he had helped them during the battle of Hogwarts, but she wasn't sure if his experiences had fundamentally changed him. Which left the situation with rest of the Slytherin's also firmly in the dark. 

"Yes," he sighed, "I am one of Draco's friends but I'm not like him." 

At this Hermione raised her eyebrow sceptically. There was no way Malfoy would make friends with someone who contradicted his beliefs.

"Ok I understand your scepticism," he admitted, "but I don't believe in the same old fashioned things he did. At least, I don't anymore." He remained silent for a moment before he continued. "Look, I was raised to believe that me and my kind were _superior,_ and for a time I bought into that. But after a while I realised it was totally stupid." 

Hermione was surprised at his honesty, but she did appreciate it. She nodded her acknowledgment, and he took this as a sign to continue. 

"So I'm sure based on that information that you and I will be able to play nice for the year, don't you think?" 

She couldn't help but snort at his frankness. "I suppose I can live with that." 

Theo nodded his assent before taking a seat, clearly not having much else to say to her. Hermione paused for a moment, but eventually sat down across from him and pulled out a book. For a time she was content with reading, but she couldn't resist glancing up at her companion every so often. Now that she was able to get a closer look at him, she had to admit he was quite striking. He had sharp, prominent cheekbones, but not so much as to make him look gaunt. No, they made him look almost regal. The way his fringe fell over his eyes softened his otherwise angular face. He really was handsome, not that she was interested, she was merely stating observations. 

They spent the rest of the trian ride in companionable silence, and when they got to Hogsmeade they shared a carriage to the castle. At last, when they entered the crowded corridor outside the Great Hall, Hermione spotted her friends in a gap in the crowd.

"I've just spotted my friends," she explained to him quietly, "I'm going to join them so...I suppose I'll see you in our dorm after the feast."

Theo didn't answer, merely nodded at her before turning away to join his own friends. She sighed as she made her way over to her group, wondering if he would remain so silent for the rest of the year. She hoped not. It would make it very difficult to perform their duties if he barely even spoke to her. He seemed amiable enough, so she was hopeful that he'd become more comfortable with her soon enough. 

Ron and Harry had already run into the hall before she got to them, of course wanting to get food as soon as possible. They never seemed to learn that the food didn't appear until _everyone_ had sat down. At least Ginny had waited for her. 

She smirked at Hermione conspiratorially as she joined her outside the hall. "Well Hermione, how was your train journey with the head boy?" 

"It was fine," she started, "albeit a bit quiet. He's not particularly chatty." 

"Well Hermione, when you're as hot as he is I can see why not much talking would be necessary," giggled Ginny. 

Hermione gaped at the redhead, scandalised that she would say such a thing. 

" _Ginny,_ " she exclaimed, "don't be ridiculous. Obviously nothing like that happened, I couldn't even remember his name for Merlin's sake." 

"I'm assuming you found out his name then, or were you too busy staring at him?" 

"Yes I did actually, his name is Theodore Nott. And I was _not_ staring at him, I assure you," said Hermione vehemently. 

"Oh sure, I believe you," snorted Ginny, "now come on I'm starving and if we don't hurry those two will have eaten all the good stuff." 

The feast mercifully passed without any further teasing from Ginny, thought she did eagle her eyebrows at Hermione when McGonagal announced the head pupils and Theo stood up. Once the feast was over Professor McGonagal showed Theo and Hermion to their dorm.

"The password is treacle tart," she informed them brusquely, not wanting to linger too long.

"After you," said Theo, allowing Hermione to open the door. She stopped short inside the portrait, and it as lucky Theo didn't crash into her. She was enthralled by the room. It was the most beautiful place she had seen in the castle in her seven years there.The walls were gold and silver, representing the respective houses of the two of them. There were two love seats, one red and one green, perched in front of a huge fire. There was a bookshelf in the corner full to bursting with books, and she fought the urge to run straight for it and examine it.

"It's lovely," she whispered quietly. 

"Yes, I have to agree," Theo replied. He didn't linger too long though, instead retiring straight to his room. 

Hermione followed suit and went to see her room. She gasped excitedly as she looked around. There was a queen size bed, a bookshelf with enough space for all her tomes, and even a small desk that she could work at. There was a huge wardrobe just beside the window, and a dresser to match it. She curiously opened the other door in her room, realising that it lead to a bathroom, which happened to have another door opposite hers. They would be sharing a bathroom then. They would have to come up with some sort of system so they didn't have any awkward encounters.

She yawned widely and padded over to the wardrobe. As she expected, all her clothes had been put inside. The elves were truly the sweetest of creatures in the magical world. She grabbed her favourite pyjamas and put them on quickly, eager to get into her delightful looking bed. It was even softer and more comfortable than she anticipated, and she found herself drifting off before she could even reach for a book. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed chapter one. I have 15 chapters on ffnet so this should be updated fairly regularly for awhile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys and gals, 
> 
> I'm actually really enjoying editing this story and posting it on here, so I hope you all enjoy it too.

When Hermione awoke the next morning she felt refreshed and ready for her first day. It was only seven so she decided that a quick shower was in order. She knocked on the door to make sure Nott wasn't in there, walked in and took off her pyjamas. The water was freezing when she got in and she had to turn up the dial in a hurry before her she froze to death. If there was one thing Hermione loved in the morning, it was a hot shower.

Once she finished washing she wrapped a towel around herself and started to dry her hair. Thankfully it had tamed in the last few years, and had settled into soft curls as opposed to the bushy mane she was known for. Once she had deemed her appearance acceptable she packed her book bag and wandered down to the Great Hall. 

When she arrived at the great hall there was barely anyone there. A handful of Hufflepuffs, around fifteen Slytherins and Ravenclaws combined and three first year Gryffindors. She sighed deeply and sat down in the middle of the Gryffindor table. It was useless hoping to see Harry and Ron before at least nine.

None of her friends had arrived by the time she'd finished her meal, so she decided to head up to the Gryffindor common room to meet Ginny. However, just as she stood up to leave Ginny walked into the hall, so she sat down again.

"Hey Mione, up early as usual I see," she greeted, smirking at the last part.

"Of course I am Gin it's the first day of classes this year," gushed Hermione excitedly. She couldn't understand how nobody else was excited to actually be going back to school, especially after everything that had happened last year.

"Typical Mione, excited about classes and homework," Ginny replied, rolling her eyes fondly at her friend. 

By the time Ginny was finished her breakfast it was almost time for class to start, and Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen. Hermione sighed and ambled down to the dungeons alone. She was the first one at the potions room door so she stood outside and waited for Professor Slughorn to let her enter. Much to her dismay, she saw Pansy Parkinson and her gaggle walking down the steps and knew nothing good would come from it. ' _Great, what's the betting the war actually gave her a personality?'_ she taught angrily.

"Well if it isn't Saint Granger," spat Pansy.

"Good morning to you too Parkinson," Hermione replied icily. Clearly she hadn't had a change of heart then. How unsurprising. 

"Aw girls look at that, it speaks," Pansy snarled, "God knows what possessed McGonagall to make you head girl, although I can't say I'm too shocked considering how much you kiss her ass." 

Hermione was about to throw a cutting retort at Pansy, but of course Malfoy and his friends decided to show up just at that moment. How fantastic, as if it couldn't get any worse.

"Well well, what do we have here," smirked Draco, "are we about to witness the first big cat fight of the year?" 

"Don't be ridiculous Malfoy," snapped Hermione, "Pansy here was just dishing out unnecessary opinions." 

"Well I don't know Granger, I thought I was necessary that I tell you that I think you're a joke of a head girl." 

Hermione didn't even dignify that with a response. She rolled her eyes and looked away from Pansy, her attention drawn to Nott, who was shuffling around awkwardly behind Malfoy. To his credit, he did seem to be quite uncomfortable with the whole situation, but he didn't make any effort to speak out on her behalf. She would never admit it of course, but she was a little bit wounded that he didn't even admonish Pansy for speaking to the head girl that way. He was the head boy, he should have spoken up for her. But no, he just stood behind Malfoy, avoiding her gaze and doing fuck all to help her. _How kind_.

"Look Parkinson, I don't have time for your insults, and frankly I don't care about them either. So why don't you go run off to a broom closet with Malfoy and do us all the favour of not having to listen to your nasally whining?" bit Hermione haughtily.

Pansy looked murderous but thankfully Slughorn opened the door and spared her any further hassle. And of course just as she was turning to walk in the door she spotted Harry and Ron running down the stairs. Fat lot of help they were. 

* * *

"Right, welcome back seventh years. You are the lucky few who have made it to advanced level potions. I must warn you though, it will not be a walk in the park. Some may find it easier then others but you will all find it challenging." announced Professor Slughorn merrily.

He looked down at the class expecting to get a reaction. He didn't get one. Everyone just stared at him blankly.

"Okay class, let's crack on with the lesson. I have paired you up with partners so there will be no need for you to pick your own".

This garnered a response from the class. It was like they all groaned in unison, knowing that the whacky professor would probably put them in the most awful pairing. 

"The pairs are as follows," he started jovially, pulling a parchment from his pocket, "Potter and Malfoy, Weasley and Parkinson, Longbottom and Daphne, Brown and Astoria, Zabini and Patil and Granger and Nott".

Hermione sighed in resignation and went to sit next to Nott. He didn't even look at her as she sat down beside him, choosing instead to stare straight ahead. Good, because Hermione didn't particularly want to talk to him anyway after the incident in the corridor. 

"Alright students, these are your partners for the year," the Professor told them. He got the same response as the last time, a groan. "Now now students, it's time for a fresh start, and to end these ridiculous house feuds."

Hermione wasn't too upset. After all, it could have been a lot worse. She could have been stuck with Malfoy, or even worse, _Pansy._ At least Nott wasn't wholly obnoxious or unpleasant. He was just....quiet. 

"Okay, today we will be revising from last year so we will be making 'The Draught of Peace'. It's on page 170 of your textbooks so start away," explained Slughor, before sitting at his desk and watching the students work. Hermione opened her textbook to the right page and went to the storeroom to gather the ingredients.

Just as she was picking up the moonstone Harry appeared by her side. 

"How do you feel about being paired with Malfoy?" Hermione whispered to him. None of them knew quite how to deal with Malfoy after the war, because at the end he had been there to help them take Voldemort down. But it seemed that his change of heart hadn't vastly changed his personality, although it was only the first day.

"I'm not sure to be honest with you," he started, "I know he helped is in the end but...he's still Malfoy."

"Yeah I get you," hermione nodded in agreement, "anyway it's Ron Ron should feel sorry for, since he's got the worst partner in the whole class." 

Harry chuckled at that as he picked around looking for the right ingredients. Hermione had gathered all she needed so she headed back to her table, where Nott had set up the cauldron and laid out the tools they needed. She placed everything in a neat nest along the bench. Clearly Nott liked to be organised so she hoped he would appreciate that she did too. 

"Ok Granger, how about you add the powdered moonstone and stir and then I'll deal with the porcupine quills. We can take it in turns after that," he proposed. Hermione agreed and immediately got to work.

The lack of mindless conversation was actually a good thing, and they actually made a pretty good team. Hermione was quietly impressed by Nott's academic skill. Clearly his time in Malfoy's shadow was at least spent productively. By the end of class they had produced a near perfect potion, which Professor Slughorn said was the best potion in the class.

Once Slughorn had checked all the potions, he dismissed the class. Hermione swiftly put her book in her bag and raced up the stairs to arithmancy. 

* * *

The rest of the day flew by in a haze. She had been paired with Blaise Zabini in both arithmancy and runes. Clearly the professors had some sort of agreement to try and promote house unity. Thankfully Zabini wasn't so bad. He certainly had a high opinion of himself, but his family had stayed firmly out of the war. His mother was Italian, and she apparently had no time for the ideals that her fellow pureblood families did, so she'd kept him away from the clutches of Voldemort. But he was still a Slytherin to boot, and he had all the self entitled arrogance to prove it. 

He hadn't given her any cause for concern though, and for this she was grateful. Following a day spent with Sltherin's, it was a relief to be able to sit down with her friends for dinner. 

Once they'd had their fill of food and laughter, they went their separate ways, the others heading to the Gryffindor common room while she made her way to her own. She settled on the soft, red couch by the fire and pulled out her history of magic book. No harm in making a head start on the reading. Of course the first topic was the goblin rebellions. _'Seriously, why couldn't they have resolved it quicker?"_

She was mumbling some facts out loud to herself when Nott walked in the portrait.

"You know Granger, they say it's a sign of madness to talk to yourself," laughed Nott.

"Oh give it a rest Nott, I'm trying to get a head start for tomorrow," snapped Hermione.

"Merlin, no need to be so _touchy_ , I was only trying to make conversation," he hissed. Without another word he headed up to his room, shutting his door with a pointed bang. 

She immediately regretted being so snappy with him, but she was still irritated that he didn't even attempt to stop Pansy from mocking her. And why should he decide to make small talk with her now, when he'd pointedly avoided talking to her all day. She huffed in annoyance and pulled out the muggle novel she was reading at the moment, having had quite enough of goblins for one night. 

About a half hour later, Nott came back down the stairs and walked straight out the portrait hole, without even sparing her a glance. She scowled at his retreating figure and grabbed her bag, not wanting to be in the common room when he returned. 

She put on her pyjamas quickly and collapsed onto her bed, only now noticing the beautiful night sky painted onto the ceiling. She felt her eyes droop as she examined the various constellations, and was asleep before she even realised it. 

* * *

Ginny was waiting for her in the Hall when she came down the next morning. She sat down at the table next to her and grabbed a slice of toast.

"Morning Mione," said Ginny sleepily, barely suppressing a yawn. She missed being able to sleep in during the summer. 

"Morning Gin, you seem a bit tired," grinned Hermione, waggling her eyebrows at Ginny suggestively. 

"Oh stop it Mione nothing like that happened. Well, last night anyway," she laughed. Hermione snorted at that, almost choking on her pumpkin juice. 

"If you say so." 

"Enough about me and Harry," started Ginny, "you definitely need to let your hair down and have some no strings attached fun." 

Hermione rolled her eyes at the redhead, "Don't be silly Ginny. I'm not really a one night stand kind of person." 

"Who said anything about just one night," smirked Ginny. At Hermione's scandalised scoff she continued. "Look, all I'm saying is there's nothing wrong with having a little fun without attachments. You've been through hell, you're entitled to enjoy yourself this year." 

Hermione gave Ginny an incredulous look, but she found herself almost agreeing with her. Surely, after everything, she was entitled to do something wildly reckless purely for her own pleasure. But still, a sordid fling seemed a bit far fetched for her liking. 

Before Ginny could come with any other dramatic notions, Hermione bad her goodbye and headed upstairs for her first class of the day. 

As usual she was the first to runes, and since the door was open she went in and sat down, patiently waiting for the rest of the class to arrive. They slowly started to file in and take their seats, and Hermione spotted Zabini coming in the door.

"Morning Granger," he said pleasantly. He'd always had a strange curiosity about her. She was a bit of an enigma to him. He'd never met anyone like her, raised in a world where everyone had to be perfectly polished. She was like nobody he'd ever seen before. To this day she still almost jumped out of her seat to answer a question, a quality his mother would have thought to be highly unrefined for a young lady. He found that he wanted to find out more about her, and now that they were partners in two classes he had the perfect chance. 

"Hi Zabini," she replied quietly. She started taking out her books while they waited for Professor Babbling to arrive. She wasn't really sure what to say to Zabini, not knowing if he would even be interested in talking to her besides polite pleasantries.

"Sorry I'm late class," huffed the professor as she ran into the room. She was heaving for breath, and it was obvious she had run a long way. Once she bad gathered her wits about her she worked her way around the class and handed out a stack of parchment to each pair. 

"So, this project is going to be a little different, but i believe it will really help to make you all more comfortable with ruins. You and your partner will be working on this project for the next three weeks, so I expect them to be perfectly done".

Once she had all the sheets handed out to, she continued to explain the assignment. "Your assignment is this; I will give each pair an except from one of Shakespear's plays and you will translate it into rune. For those of you who don't know, Shakespeare is a muggle playwright, and widely considered the greatest ever in the muggle world so I hope you all learn to appreciate his works. You may begin immediately."

Hermione immediately picked up the assignment to find out which play theirs was from. It was _Romeo & Juliet, _which Hermione made her smile to herself. It was her favourite play by Shakespeare, although she was loathe to admit that she was drawn into the romantic drama of it all. 

"Well Granger don't leave me hanging," sighed Zabini, plucking the sheets from her hands and examining them himself. "Oh _Romeo & Juliet, _one of Shakespeare's best I must say, although I myself much prefer _The Merchant of Venice._ "

Hermione's jaw dropped so quickly she was certain she must have dislocated it. Surely she hadn't heard him right. Surely Zabini hadn't actually read Shakespeare, had he?

"Try to pick your jaw off the floor Granger, I'm not an uncultured bigot you know," he smirked, turning his nose up at her in mock indignation.

She smothered a laugh and rolled her eyes. Without further discussion they got to work. By the end of class they had made some slow progress. The assignment was more challenging than they'd first anticipated. They agreed that they'd meet in the library after dinner to try and get some more done. Since they both had potions they decided to walk to the dungeons together, and Hermione was surprised at how easy he was to talk to. 

"Hey Mione, why were you walking with Zabini?" Ron whispered the second she'd joined himself and Harry outside the classroom. Hermione noticed a flick of jealousy pass through his eyes but it disappeared as fast as it came so she didn'ttake any notice of it. ' _Give it time,'_ she thought. 

"Oh we both came from runes so we just walked down together," explained Hermione. 

"Yeah well you two looked very chummy all of a sudden," he muttered darkly.

"Ron," she warned, "don't start this crap again. Don't let this year be like every other year has been. After everything that's happened to us do you really think anyone should care about ridiculous house feuds?" 

Before Ron could muster up a response, the door was opened and the seventh years flooded in. She sat in her seat and Nott joined her moments later. 

"Settle down class," smiled Slughorn. He waited for a moment before continuing, "today we will be making the most powerful potion in the world. Can anyone tell me what potion this is?"

Hermione was about to raise her hand but quickly stopped herself. It was well known what the most powerful potion in existence was, but surely they weren't making _that_ one...

"Nobody? Alright then, today we will be making amortentia." 

Hermione noticed that the other girls in the class perked up at this information, excited at the prospect of making the famed love potion. Hermione however, had more pressing concerns. 

"Professor," she asked politely, "amortentia is not usually part of the school curriculum. Is there a particular reason you have decided we should deviate from the curriculum? Isn't amortentia quite dangerous, and hence banned at Hogwarts?"

She felt rather than saw the collective eye rolls of the other girls, but she ignored them. 

"You are correct Miss Granger, amortentia is by far the most dangerous potion there is. It does not create true love, as some wish it did, but instead creates an unhealthy obsession," he explained. 

"However," he continued, "I have received permission from Professor McGonagall for this class to brew it, with the stipulation that I will dispose of each cauldron appropriately and ensure it isn't misused. I wish for you all to brew it as it is such a complex potion, and I believe it will be a valuable test of your skills. Now, I'll give you each a copy of the recipe and you may begin when ready." 

Hermione supposed that it would be an interesting challenge, though she was quite apprehensive about it all things considered. Beside her she saw Nott fidgeting with the notes, clearly quite nervous about the whole thing himself. He took the parchment without a word and went to get the ingredients. when he came back he put the ingredients on the table and they got straight to work.They worked together in an akward silence. Neither of them really knew what to say, between the awkwardness of brewing a love potion together and the lingering tension from the night before.

As the potion brewed, Hermione noticed the signature spirals of steam coming from the cauldron. Good, that meant they were brewing it right. She knew she shouldn't be so silly, but she couldn't resist taking a sniff of the steam. She could smell her favourite things, fresh parchment, leather book bindings, and some other appealing smell. She didn't know what it was but it had a distinctly woody scent. 

Nott noticed her smelling the potion, and almost snorted at her. She may be a no nonsense pragmatist, but she was still a girl. And girls couldnt resist silly love potions. He however, would not be sticking his nose over the cauldron. What was the point? As the class continued he started to smell things, such as parchment, fresh cut grass, and for some strange reason he also smelled roses. He felt like a silly twit for even stopping to think about it. Curse that stupid steam.

"Right class, in order to truly test the potion you each need to put in a strand of you hair and then take a drop, and _only one drop,_ each," explained Slughorn. When everyone started protesting he immediately reassured them. "Fear not, you will only have to take a single drop, which you can take from the cauldron with the dropper on your desks. A single drop will not have much of an effect, and it will wear off within a few minutes I assure you. On top of that, it will be a valuable lesson to you all to show you how truly potent this potion is."

Hermione was sceptical, but she supposed the professor wouldn't get them to do it unless it was completely necessary. Although, she couldn't help but think that the Professor was making them test it for his own entertainment. Regardless, she picked a strand of hair from her jumper and threw it into the potion. Nott did the same and the potion hissed and bubbled. Hermione stirred it clockwise for for turns, and the counter clockwise for four more. At last, it had it's signature mother of pearl sheen on top and they knew it was finally done. Neither of them wanted to make the first move to take a drop, but they knew they had to or they'd fail the clase. And failing was not an option for Hermione.

Eventually Nott made the first move. He picked up the dropper and took a single drop from the cauldron, gingerly dropping it onto his tongue. He passed the dropper to her as he swallowed nervously. She followed his lead and took a drop herself, and she waited with bated breathe to see what would happen. 

She looked at Nott and noticed he was staring at her. He was probably waiting to see how the potion would affect her. He didn't look any different. Clearly this potion wasn't working at all. She glanced around the room and everyone else seemed to be in a similar state of confusion. She turned back to Nott and found that he had moved slightly closer to her. She looked up into his bright blue eyes and found herself entranced. She couldn't look away. They were like whirlpools and she had been pulled into their current. 

She leaned another bit closer to him, her attention drawn to his hair. It was the most gorgeous shade of chocolate brown, and she had a sudden urge to run her hands through it because it looked so incredibly soft.

Theo couldn't seem to move away from her. She was simply stunning, with her button nose and her rosy lips. He wondered for a fleeting moment how soft her lips would be, and found himself leaning down towards her slightly. Their faces were a hairs breadth away from each other, and all Theo could smell was roses. Nothing had ever smelled quite so sweet as she did in that moment. His eyes flickered to her lips briefly, and he leaned forward just so...

The moment was broken when Slughorn clapped loudly. They jumped apart quickly when they realised the whole class was watching them. Professor Slughorn was standing in front of their desk inspecting their potion and watching them with mild bemusement. 

"Well," he commented, "it seems you two are a perfect potions partnership. You've made one heck of a potion. A single drop of yours seemed to be far more effective than any other potion in the room. Congrats." 

Hermione couldn't even look at Nott, and he face was burning in embarrassment from the fact that the whole class had been watching them. Nott too was sporting a slight blush, though he did his best to suppress it. Mercifully Slughorn dismissed them, and Hermione wasted no time, grabbing her stuff haphazardly and rushing out of the room, wanting to be as far away from that potion, and Nott, as possible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it. Hope you enjoyed the draaammaaa cause I loved writing it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies x
> 
> Hope everyone who's read this story so far has enjoyed it. Every hit means a lot to me because I'm really enjoying this story.

Hermione had never been so embarrassed in her life. How the bloody hell had she allowed that to happen? Blasted Slughorn and his damn love potion. They had been so close to...and in front of everyone... _no._ She felt her face burn crimson and she quickly tamped down the thought. She would not allow herself to dwell on it anymore. It was just the pption anyway. She went straight to her history of magic class without looking or speaking to anyone and sat down at her usual seat, waiting for class to begin. The door opened and a few more students came in, and of course Nott was one of them. His eyes flitted to hers for a moment and she could have sworn she saw a dusting of pink on his cheeks, which of course then made ber blush again. _Stupid potion._

Professor Binns floated through the chalk board in his usual ghostly fashion, and she quickly turned her attention to the front of the classroom.

"Okay class, take out your books and open to page 51," Binns said in his boring, monotone voice. They read for a while, once again covering the never ending goblin wars. Near the end of class Professor Binns told them they would be working on an assignment in pairs. Everyone got up to pick a partner but he stopped them in their tracks.

"I have taken the liberty of pairing you up myself," he explained. Great, another teacher jumping on the house unity trend. Of course she got partnered with Nott. Clearly the universe was out to embarrass her today. She sighed and gathered her books, shuffling over to sit next to Nott. He didn't lift his eyes from his table, as though expecting it to disappear if he dared look away. He coughed awkwardly after a few minutes and glanced up at her.

"Er... Look Granger," he started sheepishly, "I don't want it to be awkward... You know... After potions.." he said sheepishly.

"Yeah...neither do I," replied Hermione akwardly. "I mean...from an academic perspective...at least we know we made an excellent potion..."

Theo snorted at that. Of course the famed bookworm would somehow manage to bring it back to academia. Their conversation was interrupted by Professor Binns, was was explaining the project to the class. 

"Alright class, your assignment is simple. You must research a historical figure of your choice, and your essay should outline the significant moments in their life, as well as any achievements or controversies they may have had. You will do this between you and you have three weeks. You may begin at once."

"So...do you have any suggestions for who we should do?" asked Hermione shyly.

"What about Nicolas Flamel?" He suggested.

"Yeah, he's had many achievements so I'm sure that we would be able to pull together a good essay about him." 

"So do you want to start on it tonight? We can do it in the library or in our common room, whatever you prefer," he asked.

"Oh sorry I can't, I told Zabini, sorry um...Blaise, that I'd meet him tonight to start our runes project," she explained. "How about tomorrow at seven in the library?"

"Oh ok, tomorrow night it is then." 

The bell rang then and Hermione rushed to get out of the classroom as quickly as possible. Sure, they had agreed that it shouldn't be awkward between them, after all it was the potion that had put them in such an awkward position. And yet, when she had been talking about the assignment with him she found herself getting lost in his eyes every so often. Curse that stupid potion. She had to forget about it, and quickly. She had to live and work with him for Merlin's sake, she couldn't be going around like an air head getting distracted by his _eyes_. Not to mention his hair, and his cheekbones, and...

Hermione was pulled from her inner turmoil by the sight of her friends heading into the hall for lunch. She pushed this silly thoughts from her mind and rushed to catch up with them, taking a seat next to Ginny and across from the boys. She blushed when she remembered that they had also been in potions that afternoon, and she couldn't make eye contact with either of them lest she die of embarrassment. She knew for a fact that the whole class had been watching her and Nott, which would probably explain why Ron was violently stabbing a pasty with his fork. She was in for it now, she was sure of it.

"So Mione, you looked like you enjoyed potions class this afternoon," he said sourly, pointedly taking another stab at his pasty. 

"Oh Ron don't be so ridiculous," she said irritably, though she could feel her cheeks turning pink, "you know as well as I do that it was all that stupid potion." 

"If you don't mind me asking," interjected Ginny with a furrowed brow, "what happened in potions this afternoon?"

"Hermione and Nott were making googly eyes at each other, that's what bloody happened," spat Ron. 

Hermione noticed Ginny's widening eyes and the slow smirk that was crossing her face as she turned to face her, and quickly tried to dissuade her from any mad notions.

"What Ron failed to mention was that _everyone_ had to make and test amortentia, so _everyone_ in the class ended up making googly eyes at each other." 

"Sure, but you and Nott looked a lot more cosy than any other pair did," Ron hissed. Hermione scoffed and was about to admonish his ridiculousness, but he stood up abruptly and proclaimed he'd lost his appetite. 

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother and his temper, and Hermione sighed in defeat. Clearly he wasn't as over her as he should be. Harry, who had remained silent throughout the tense exchange, gave her a sympathetic look, but didn't make any comment. Good, she didn't need him weighing in on the issue.

Just as Ron got to the main doors, he spotted Nott walking in, and letting his temper get the better of him he approached him.

"Listen Nott," he spat, standing in front of him to block his path, "you keep your grubby Slytherin hands off of Hermione, you hear me?"

Theo arched a brow elegantly, amused by the blatant show of false bravado.

"Look Weasley, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, so if you don't mind I'd quite like to get my lunch," he snipped.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about you snake," snapped Ron, nostrils flaring, "we all saw you making eyes at her in potions." 

Theo rolled his eyes at the stupidity of the man in front of him. He wondered for a moment how Granger could stick him. They were polar opposites. Where Granger was curious and intelligent, Weasley clearly had the mind of a niffler. How did she ever manage to hold a conversation with him?

"Look Weasley," Theo said patronisngly, "I know it might be difficult for you to understand, but amortentia is a _love potion,_ so it shouldn't be too difficult for even your clearly tiny mind to comprehend why it had such an affect on Granger and myself."

Ron did not take well to having his intelligence mocked, and Nott's patronising comments were the final straw. He grabbed Nott roughly by the front of his jumper and shoved him hard. Theo, who was taken aback by Ron's reckless action, stumbled back against the wall. He heaved in a breath and righted himself, stepping up to Weasley and shoving him back harshly. People in the hall had started to take notice of the incident happening at the entrance, and everyone was turning in their seats, not wanting to miss any action. Hermione noticed everyone was whispering excitedly and looked up, eyes widening in horror at the scene unfolding. 

"What's your fucking problem Weasley?" Theo hissed, his fists clenching.

"You are my problem Nott. You better stay the hell away from Hemione," Ron growled, stepping into Nott's space in an attempt to be threatening. 

Nott smirked viciously, "Why Weasley? Are you afraid I have a better chance than you? Because last time I checked you had plenty of opportunities to woo her for the last seven years. Clearly you haven't managed to grasp the fact that she's just not that into you."

Ron drew back his first and aimed straight for Nott's nose. But Nott was too fast and he ducked, easily predicting Ron's amateur move. He punched Ron in the stomach and pushed him to the floor. "I knew you were dense Weasley, but I didnt realise you were completely brainless. You've just earned yourself a month's worth of detention for starting a fight with me because in case you've forgotten, _I'm the head boy,"_ hissed Theo. With a final shove he stalked out of the hall and stormed up the stairs, not even bothering to grab something for his lunch.

Hermione had stood up abruptly when she saw Ron getting ready for a first fight, but she didn't get there in time to intervene. By the time she reached the door, Nott had already left and Ron was wheezing, clearly winded from the dig he got in the stomach. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow at him on disapproval. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she exclaimed.

"What's wrong with _me?_ What the hell is wronf with _you?_ He's an asshole, and he gave me detention for a month even though _he's_ the one who winded _me_ ," complained Ron. "Surely you can overrule that or something, right?" He added.

"Oh no, don't drag me into this. What did you think was going to happen, picking a fight with the head boy of all people? And he only winded you because you tried to punch him first. Of course he gave you detention, he's fully entitled to. This is completely you're fault Ron, and I will not back you out of it," scolded Hermione.

"My fault? How is it my fault?" he asked incredulously.

"Because you provoked him into an argument and you laid a hand on him first," she answered crossly.

"Oh yeah that's right, I should have known you'd stand up for your new boyfriend,"snapped Ron in anger. He huffed in annoyance and stalked off upstairs.

"He really is a drama queen isn't he?" said Ginny, shaking her head. She had come to attempt to help Hermione with her idiot brother, but he had stomped off before she got the chance. 

"I know he is," she sighed. She noticed the mischievous look on Ginny's face and raced to dissuade her. "And no, Nott isn't my boyfriend before you get any ideas into your head. It was just a potion," said Hermione looking pointedly at her red headed friend.

"I said nothing," giggled Ginny, "but he is easy on the eyes, I wouldn't blame you for going there." 

Hermione smacked her in the arm in exasperation, which just made Ginny laugh more. She rolled her eyes as she turned back into the hall to grab her book bag. 

"Not a word Harry," she warned when he opened his eyes to question her. He quickly complied, sensing from her tone that she didn't want to talk about it anymore than she already had to. She grabbed an apple from the table before making her way upstairs for her late afternoon classes. 

* * *

Thankfully the rest of the day was uneventful. Hermione had had her fill of drama for one day, thank you very much. She sat betwen Ginny and Harry at dinner, and pointedly ignored Ron glaring daggers at her from across the table. At quarter to seven she excused herself from the table and reached down to grab her bag from under her seat. 

"Where are you going Mione?" asked Harry between bites of pumpkin pasty.i

"She's probably going to snog her new boyfriend," Ron interjected, scowling darkly at her.

"Merlin Ron get a grip and stop being such an idiot would you?," she snapped, "and if you must know, I'm meeting Blaise Zabini in the Library for our runes project." With that she marched out of the hall, refusing to glance back at Ron.

She was an little early, so settled at a table and organised her things, trying to out Ron and his idiocy out of her mind. At seven sharp, Zabini walked in and sat down in the seat across from her.

"Good evening Granger," he sighed, "I don't know about you but I'm in absolutely no mood for ancient runes.

""You know what Zabini," she sighed, "I can't disagree with you on that one."

He chuckled, and then suggested they find some Rune books to at least make a start on the project. They went to the runes section of the library and found a few advanced runes translation books that they hoped would be useful, getting straight to work. The sooner they started the sooner it would be over.

They translated in comfortable quiet, only speaking every so often when they needed to clarify something. Hermione was pleasantly surprised at how easy he was to work with, and even more so at his competency with runes. For all his comlainging that he wasn't in the mood for runes, he was certainly very good at them. 

Eventually he threw down his quill and leaned back in his chair and stretched out his stiff neck, clearly needing a break. Hermione was content to keep going on her own, but he didn't let her work for long. 

"So Granger," he started, "I couldn't help but notice Theo and Weasley arguing about you in the hall earlier. What was all that about?"

Hermione sighed and put down her quill. Who knew Zabini was such a gossip? 

"It was about nothing," she replied. At Zabini's sceptical look she huffed and continued. "It was just Ron being silly. He...got the wrong idea in potions this morning and decided to take it out on Nott. Which was a totally stupid thing to do over a silly potion." 

Zabini nodded thoughtfully, and she assumed that he was satisfied and would leave it at that. But of course, his curiosity had been piqued and he had to do a little more digging.

"I think the only really good thing to come out of amortentia is the smell, don't you agree?" 

She glanced up at him suspiciously, wondering where this conversation was going.

"Yes," she muttered, "I suppose you're right." 

"Well don't leave me hanging Granger, what did you smell?"

"Why would you want to know that Zabini?" she questioned quickly.

"Woah Granger relax," he chuckled, "I was only curious, although your reaction leads me to believe you have something to hide."

Hermione fought hard to contain her blush, although judging by his smirk she didn't succeed. 

"If you must know, I smelled fresh parchment and leather book bindings..." she sighed, tapering off at the end. 

"Aannd....?" Blaise prompted. 

"And a wood of some kind, I think it was sandalwood, presumably from some variety of cologne." 

He paused at that, as though weighing up something in his mind. "Interesting," he said at last. Hermione furrowed her brows, wondering what on earth could be interesting about that. 

"Why is that interesting?" 

"It's interesting," he started, smirking slightly, "because my dear friend Theo recently stole my favourite cologne, which funnily enough smells very strongly of sandalwood.

She thought she could sense the road he was going down, but merlin knows she couldn't understand why. Why on earth would he insinuate that was _his_ cologne she had smelled? What could be possibly be getting at here? 

"What exactly are you getting at Zabini?" 

"Nothing," he said innocently, though his smirk said otherwise, "I'm merely saying it's interesting you smelled my favourite cologne in a potion that spurts out the smells that attract you most."

Hermione sputtered at that. Was he insinuating that she was attracted to him? Surely not. He couldn't possibly be. That would imply that he was flirting with her. Merlin, surely he wasn't flirting with her, was he?

"Yes well," she started, clearing her throat, "sandalwood is a relatively common cologne scent. I'm sure the potion was just pointing out that I like the smell in general."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," he agreed, but the mischievous glint in his eye spelled more trouble. "Though you must admit it's quite a funny little coincidence. Really Granger, it you found me so attractive you should have just said so."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but really the whole situation was making her quite fidgety. She didn't quite know how to deal with the obvious flirtations of a handsome man. And he was handsome, she did have to admit. She wondered for the briefest moments how soft his full lips would feel, and felt her cheeks heat when she realised where her train of thought had gone. She hastily tried to move the discussion away from herself. 

"Well then what did you smell?" Hermione asked, "it's only fair you tell me considering the grilling you just gave me." 

"Yes, I suppose that would be fair," he laughed, and she couldn't help herself from liking the sound. 

"I smelled treacle tarts and peppermint, and roses also," he explained, leaning his elbows on the table and watching her intently. He had lovely brown eyes, and for a moment she was caught in them. But then she blinked away the fog in her brain and cleared her throat. 

"Well, that's certainly a lovely combination," she smiled awkwardly. She checked her watch and balked at the time. How had it gotten so late? She hadn't even noticed the time passing. 

"Oh dear it's quite late," she sighed, "It's high time we packed up for the night I think." 

Blaise nodded in agreement and they both started putting their books away, although Hermione seemed to be in more of a hurry than he was. When she was finally satisfied that everything was in its place she stood and turned to face Zabini. 

"Well, I suppose I'll say goodnight then," she murmured quietly. She shuffled her feet awkwardly, unsure of what else she could say to him. 

"Should we work on it again in a few days?" He asked. 

"Yes," she agreed, "how about every second evening?"

He nodded in agreement, and once again she found herself shuffling awkwardly, unsure if there was something else either of them wanted to say. 

"Right," she said, "goodnight then." She swiftly turned on her heel and headed for the door, running away from the sheer strangeness of that whole exchange. When she was just outside the library door she felt a hand on her elbow stopping her.

"Let me walk you back to your common room. I mean, just to make sure you get back in one piece," he said smoothly. Hermione gave him a small smile and nodded. He signaled for her to lead the way and she surpressed a laugh at his dramatic sweeping gesture.

Eventually the teacher their destination, and they both stopped and stood just down the corridor from the portrait. Hermione scuffed her feet, unsue of what she should say.

"Well," she eventually murmured, "thanks for walking me back."

"Anytime. I couldn't live with myself if you were dragged away by Peeves alone in the dark," he grinned. She snickered at the thought of being dragged away by the pesky poltergeist. 

"How gallant of you," she grinned, "well then, goodnight then." 

He nodded and she walked towards the portrait, but was stopped once again by his hand on her elbow. She turned, and her breath hitched when she realised how close he was to her. He leaned down towards her, and her heart stopped when she thought he might be about to kiss her. He stopped just short of her lips, his nose brushing her cheek gently. He closed his eyes for a moment and leaned in towards her ear. 

"You know Granger," he whispered softly "you're wearing the most beautiful rose perfume."

With a last lingering look he released her and headed back down the corridor, leaving her spellbound in his wake. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed all the drama in this chapter, because I certainly loved writing it :D who doesn't love a good dose of romantic tension?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is here at last. 
> 
> Sorry it's been awhile I've been busy with stuff at home and college work. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy x

Hermione could feel Ginny eyeing her strangely from across the breakfast table, but she refused to let on that she was anything other than fine. Because she was fine of course. 

"Is there something wrong that you're not telling me?" Ginny asked eventually. Hermione glanced over at her, resisting the urge to fidget under Ginny's questioning gaze.

"Of course, why would you think there's anything wrong?"

"I don't know," she started, "you just seem a bit off this morning, distracted."

"Oh no I'm fine," Hermione insisted, "just a bit tired is all." 

"Why? Long night _studying_ with Zabini?" Ginny smirked. Hermione nearly choked on her juice, coughing breathlessly in an attempt to clear her throat. 

"Oh my god," gasped Ginny, laughing gleefully, "did something happen with him last night? Merlin Hermione at this rate you'll have worked your way through half of the Slytherin seventh years by the end of the month."

Hermione balked at the redhead, "Nothing happened Gin, and Merlin don't say things like that you make it sound like I'm some kind of harlot. Nothing happened with Zabini or Nott."

"If you insist," smirked Ginny cheekily. 

Hermione scoffed in mock annoyance, rising from her seat. 

"I need to drop into the library before class, so I'll see you later," said Hermione, waving goodbye to the other girl. She thought about what Ginny had said as she made her way through the hall. Surely she wasn't a harlot was she? Nothing had happened with Nott, that was just the potion. At least that's what she was telling herself, though the butterflies she got in her stomach at the memory may say otherwise. Then there was the whole thing with _Zabini_.

So caught up in her thoughts that she was, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and before she knew it she was toppling over, heading face first for the ground. She never hit the floor though, and she felt a strong pair of hands grab her arms quickly. 

"Steady up there Granger," said the unmistakable voice of Blaise Zabini. She looked up and blushed at her position, embarrassed that he had caught her mid fall. He noticed her blushing and smirked as he stood her up straight, letting his hands linger on her arms. He stepped in closer to her, leaning in towards her and she felt her heart race. Surely he wouldn't try anything in front of everyone would he?

He brought his lips to her ear and whispered to her softly. "You know Granger, there are safer ways for you to get my attention." He winked at her suggestively as he headed off to the Slytherin table, and if she didn't know any better she'd say he had an extra swagger about him. 

She turned around quickly, determined to get away from the scene of her embarrassment as soon as possible. Of course, determined as she was to get away, she didn't notice the person lingering in the corridor watching her with an odd expression marring his face. 

Seeing Granger with Blaise had made Theo pause on his way to the Great Hall. He didn't really know why but he'd been irritated by seeing them together, and when he saw Blaise lean in to whisper in her ear, he'd scowled. She had no idea what she was getting herself into with Blaise. But what did he care? It wasn't any of his business who she associated with. If she wanted to make a fool of herself with Blaise then more power to her. 

* * *

Hermione was waiting for charms class to start, mindlessly flicking through her textbook, when she heard someone sit beside her. She assumed it was Harry or Ron so she greeted them without looking up from her textbook. She jumped in surprise when she felt a hand rest on her arm. She looked up suddenly and was faced with Zabini's hazel eyes. 

"Afternoon Granger," he grinned, a glint in his eye. Hermione felt a blush rising on her cheeks at his shameless attention. It was all very strange of course, but she couldn't deny she was enjoying it. 

"Hello Zabini," she smiled shyly. Her eyes flickered to behind him, where Nott had taken a seat. He seemed to be looking anywhere but at the table beside him, his brow furrowed.

Their conversation was short lived as professor Flitwick hustled in and started the class. She hadn't even realised Harry and Ron had come in, nor that they were eyeing Zabini beside her. Blaise smirked when he caught Ron eyeing him up, and decided to have a little fun with him. He leaned in closer to Hermione and started whispering in her ear, and rested a hand on the back of her seat. Hermione's whole face was burning crimson, and she wasn't really sure what to do with herself. 

Across the classroom Ron felt like he was about to explode. How could Hermione just sit there and let him feel her up? It was sickening. Had she completely lost her mind and forgotten who he was? Ron knew she wouldn't listen to him, but he knew he had to do something to protect her from that idiot. 

Hermione was trying her best not to die of embarrassment, and was pointedly ignoring the fluttering in her stomach. This was all totally ridiculous, I mean he was obviously just toying with her. She wasn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing. She was well aware of Zabini and his womanizer ways, which were always a point of gossip through the years. She'd always rolled her eyes at the girls swooning at him, but now that she was in receipt of his attention, she supposed she could see why they reacted in such a way. He was undeniably handsome, she couldn't deny that. 

After what seemed like a lifetime of teasing gestures on Zabini's part, and shy glances on Hermione's, the class was over. She quickly gathered her things and approached Harry and Ron, who were the last ready as usual. 

"Ready to head to lunch?" Hermione asked brightly. Rom ignored her completely, glaring at her and brushing past her without a backwards glance. Hermione sighed and turned to Harry, who raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't comment. They headed out of the classroom in silence, and they were halfway to the hall before she could stand it no longer. 

"Are the two of you really going to ignore me over something so silly?" She huffed, stopping in the hall and grabbing Harry's arm to turn him to face her. Harry sighed rested a hand on her arm gently. "Neither of us are ignoring you Mione," he started. "I'm just worried about you is all. I don't want you to get hurt by someone who's well known for his record of using witches." 

Hermione smiled at Harry fondly. He was truly a brother to her, even if not by blood. "Don't be silly Hary, I'm not a fool. I know what he's doing and I don't have feelings for him. Hell, I barely know him," she laughed, "but after everything we've been through don't you think we all deserve to let our hair down and be reckless? It's just harmless flirting." 

Harry huffed out a laugh, "I can't believe you're actually suggesting doing things outside the box. As long as I've known you you've been strictly by the book." 

"Yes well," she rolled her eyes and smirked, "I suppose you lot have finally worn me down to a less strict version of myself. But don't expect me to ease up where schoolwork is concerned." 

Harry chuckled, "I wouldn't expect anything less. Now c'mon let's go or Ron and Seamus will have all the good stuff gone."

* * *

The rest of the day consisted of Ron glaring at her and huffing every so often to make sure she knew he was mad. Petulant child. By the time they sat down for dinner Hermione had had quite enough of his childishness. 

"Ron, don't you think it's about time you stopped glaring at me and pouting like an offended Hippogriff? I mean for goodness sake I haven't even done anything wrong." 

Ron snorted derisively, and the tips of his ears started to turn red. "Not done anything? Are you out of your damn mind Hermione?" He hissed. "First you and Nott got up close and personal in potions, and now you're letting Zabini get handsy with you? How could you allow those snakes anywhere near you?" 

Hermione put her fork down and scowled across the table at him. "For goodness sake Ronald," she seethed, "how many times do you have to be told that what happened in potions was because of the amortentia? And Zabini wasn't getting handsy with me for Merlin's sake, he was just flirting with me which, may I remind you, he is perfectly entitled to do considering I am a single woman." 

Ron's nostrils flared and he narrowed his eyes. "I see how it is," he snarled, "you're enjoying this aren't you? Are you really so desperate you'd willingly let those bastards touch you?" 

Hermione stood abruptly and threw her pumpkin juice at Ron, who spluttered in shock. "How dare you speak to me like that you ignorant arshehole." With that she grabbed her bag and marched out of the hall, pointedly ignoring all the eyes following her. 

Harry and Ginny shared a glance as they watched Hermione leave. Ron was cursing bloody murder, trying to wipe the pumpkin juice off his jumper. When he commented that Hermione had gone ' _barking mad'_ , Ginny reached across the table and smacked him round the ear. He sputtered in indignation, and leaned back just in time to avoid a second smack. 

"You may be my brother, but that doesn't mean I have to sit here and agree with you when you're clearly being a gigantic twat," she snapped. Ron scoffed at her and turned to Harry for backup, but his best friend was shaking his head at him in disapproval. 

"Whatever," he grumbled, "I've lost my appetite." He quickly stomped out of the hall and headed up to the Gryffindor common room, unwilling to deal with anyone for awhile. 

Hermione had just turned the corner by the library when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards them. "Did you not get the message that I want to be left alone?" She growled as she was spun around. She exhaled in surprise when she realised that it was not actually one of her friends who had followed her. 

"No need to bite Granger, I come in peace," smirked Blaise. He lead her to the side of the corridor and leaned against the wall. She mirrored his casual stance, trying vainly to calm her frayed nerves. "That was quite the performance in the hall I must say," he grinned. 

She blushed and looked down at her feet. "Yes well he said some things that got on my nerves. I wasn't going to let him get away with it, even if he is my best friend. I probably shouldn't have let him rattle my cage in such a way, I know." She glanced up at him through her lashes shyly. 

Blaise leaned down towards her slightly. "Perhaps you need an outlet for all that energy," he murmered. Her breath hitched when he leaned a little closer and she glanced at the ground so he wouldn't see her crimson cheeks. He placed a finger under her chin and and made her look up at him, and before she could utter a word his lips were on hers. 

It was a surprisingly gentle kiss and Hermione felt butterflies in her stomach. He started pulling back, but before he could move away altogether she reached up on her tiptoes, put her arms around his neck and pulled him back in. She felt Blaise's smirk against her lips, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer. He maneuvered them around so that her back was against the wall, resting one hand on the wall by her head and using the other to pull her flush against him. 

It was passionate and intense, and as his tongue teased her lips she found herself more than willing to let him deepen the kiss. He tasted of sweet treacle tart and Hermione explored his mouth chasing the taste of it. Her hands moved up his neck to the back of his scalp, his short black hair course against her palm. She pulled back slightly, needing a moment to catch her breath. Blaise nosed along her cheek and down towards her neck, and her breathing hitched when he grazed her collarbone gently.

He paused for a moment and inhaled, the smell of her perfume intoxicating. He sucked the skin gently, intending to mark her so she wouldn't be too quick to forget their rendezvous. Hermione inhaled deeply at the new sensation. She wasn't a virgin, no, but her regrettable experience with Ron had been messy and rushed and had been decidedly lacking in foreplay of any kind. Blaise's lips on her neck made her skin tingle as though it were engulfed by flames. Her eyes fluttered open momentarily and suddenly she was staring into a pair of piercing blue eyes. 

Her eyes widened in horror and she gasped, pushing Blaise away roughly and dusting down her clothes, trying to make herself more presentable. Her whole body blazed, from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair was a horrid shade of crimson. She could hear talking, but couldn't hear the words over the buzzing in her ears. 

"Granger?" 

Hermione looked up sharply at the sound of her name. Blaise was smirking at her, and Nott was pointedly avoiding looking at her, his arms crossed. She swallowed harshly and chewed on her lip. "Yes I..." she mumbled. Blaise smirked even wider, clearly enjoying the debacle. Theo had had quite enough of it however, and decided it was time to move everyone along. 

"Right well," he started gruffly, "Granger and I have an assignment we need to work on. So I _hate_ to break the mood but we should probably be going to the library now to do that." He pursued his lips and walked away from the pair, heading for the library and unable to look at them any longer. He'd been surprised to say the least to come upon the head girl and his friend making out outside the library of all places. It had stopped him in his tracks. Granger had her head back against the wall, eyes closed and mouth agape in barely contained pleasure, and Theo felt his cheeks heat when he realised he'd been staring. 

She was gorgeous, he couldn't deny that. Objectively speaking of course. It's not like he was actually thinking of her in that way, it was just an observation. His mind wandered back to that potions class and how close they had gotten. If either of them had leaned in just a little further...

His thought was cut short by the scraping of a chair across from him. Theo looked up and locked eyes with Hermione, who looked like she wanted to sink into the Black Lake and never resurface. 

"Are you ready to start?" Hermione asked as she sat down, trying to keep her voice from wavering. She couldn't hold Nott's gaze. He had an aura about him, almost like he could peer into the depths of her soul, and she didn't want him poking around in there because who knows what he'd find. 

"Yes," he replied shortly. He knew deep down he was being completely irrational and even petulant about this, but he found he couldn't help it. He couldn't ignore the twisting coil he'd had in his gut since he caught the two of them together, but likewise he couldn't understand it either. "I'll go and look in the history section for books about Flamel." 

He was gone before she could even respond, and she decided it was best she didn't follow him to help in the search. He clearly didn't want to be around her right now, and could she even blame him? He'd caught her acting like a normal third year in the middle of a corridor. That wasn't exactly following the code for how a head student should behave. And yet, what right did he have to be cross with her? Yes, it wasn't exactly model student behaviour, but who was he to judge her? She was certain he was no angel himself. 

Not long later he returned with a stack of books which he dropped gently on the table. Wordlessly he grabbed the book on the top and started flicking through it. Hermione sniffed at his coldness and grabbed the next book. They worked like that for awhile, both taking down notes without saying anything to the other. Eventually the tension got too much for Hermione, so she dropped her quill on the table with a _clack_ and sighed airily. 

"You know it's quite difficult to work with someone when you've decided for some unfathomable reason to not talk to them," she snipped. She'd be damned if she let him get the better of her. 

Theo paused in his writing but did not look up at her. "I have neither decided not to speak to you, nor have an _unfathomable_ reason for not speaking to you." He continued with his notes then, not wanting to engage in the conversation she was trying to start. He did not want to think about the knot that was still twisting in his gut, or the way he thought she was gorgeous, or...he clenched his fingers around his quill in a desperate attempt to distract himself. 

"Look," Hermione grumbled, "I don't know what your problem is but.." 

"The only one with a problem here is you," snapped Theo. He covered his ink pot and quickly gathered his belongings, putting them into his satchel. He piled the books and picked them up roughly. Clearly they weren't going to make any more progress, so why should he bother wasting any more of his night? Wordlessly he moved about the stacks and sent the books back where they belonged. He breezed past their table and left the library without a backwards glance. He knew he was being petulant but he couldn't explain it, he just knew that he needed to get away from her. The twisting coil he'd been feeling in his gut was burning inexplicably hot, and he couldn't get the image of the two of them out of his head. He needed to stop whatever ridiculous thoughts he was having. They were neither rational nor productive. He had a whole year of working with her to get through, and he would never survive it if he continued being such a fool. 

Hermione was half jogging down the corridor trying to catch up with him. She had sat gaping as he'd marched out of the library without a word. How _rude._ She scrambled to collect her things, and swiftly put the books she had back on the shelf before running out of the library after him. He had already disappeared around the corner by the time she came out the door, and she groaned as she jogged to try and catch him. She bounded up the stairs, thankful she had maintained her fitness over the summer so she wasn't out of breath. As she rounded the corner near their dorms she saw him go in the portrait hole and raced to catch him before he went into his rooms. 

"What the hell is wrong with you Nott?" She exclaimed as the portrait closed behind her. He paused by his door but he didn't turn to face her, nor did he respond. His silence agitated her more and she pursed her lips. "You know it's quite rude to storm out on someone without explanation and then refuse to answer their question." 

"You're the one who went off topic," he grumbled, turning to face her, "we were supposed to be working on an assignment, but you decided to kick up a fuss over nothing. So my _humblest apologies_ that I wasn't going to stick around any longer." He clenched his jaw and looked her square in the face, refusing to back down and let her win. 

Hermione scoffed and crossed her arms. "You think _I_ made an issue? You're the one who became frosty when you happened upon Zabini and I in the corridor." She paused for a second, tamping down the rising blush on her cheeks at the thought that he'd seen her and Zabini like that. It was rather embarrassing. A dark realisation came to her then, and she narrowed her eyes at her fellow head student. "This is about me isn't it? You and your pureblood ideals are _revolted_ that your friend was publicly kissing a _Mudblood_."

Theo dropped his bag and clenched his fists. With a few angry strides he was within inches of her, breathing heavily and glaring daggers at her. "You have _no idea_ about who I am or how I think. How _dare_ you make such assumptions about me." He leaned down slightly so he could look her dead in the face. Her eyes were wide open and mouth agape. He was so close he could feel her shallow breaths tickling his face. "If you really think me such a monster then I have nothing else to say to you," he hissed. He turned swiftly and marched to his room, pausing only to pick up his bag before slamming his door shut. 

Hermione was frozen to the spot in the lounge. She'd gone too far, that much was abundantly clear. Obviously his pureblood upbringing was a touchy subject and she'd managed to touch a very sensitive nerve. He'd been furious, and he'd gotten right up into her face to make sure she could see just how barely contained his anger was. He'd been so close she could feel every huffed breath he took. His blue eyes had roiled like the ocean, crackling with fury. He'd been so close that if either of them had tipped forward even slightly... 

She closed her eyes and shook her head, the tips of her ears burning hot. She'd kissed Zabini only a few hours ago, and now she was thinking about...No, now was definitely not the time to be thinking such things. There were more pressing matters at hand, such as how her and Nott could work together if he wouldn't even speak to her. She still for the life of her couldn't figure out what is problem was if it wasn't related to her birth. 

She sighed as she got ready for bed. It was only the first week and she'd already had more than enough drama to last her for the rest of the year. This year was supposed to be relaxed and stress free, but she supposed she should have known that was an impossibility. 

There was never a relaxed year in Hogwarts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you have it. Hope you all enjoyed it x


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